Sydney Rays

Sydney, formerly the Sydney Rays, was an Australian rugby union team that competed in the National Rugby Championship (NRC). It was one of two sides from New South Wales that played in the final season of NRC in 2019; the other was the NSW Country Eagles.

The team played as the all-of-Sydney side in 2019 and wore the traditional blue and yellow colours of Sydney's representative rugby teams, drawing on the metropolitan sides that represented the city for more than a century. It adopted as its logo the anchor insignia of the Sydney Rugby Union, which dates back to at least 1970.

Known as North Harbour Rays for the first two NRC seasons, Sydney Rays became the team name for the next three seasons during a consolidation of the number of NRC teams in the city from three in 2014 to eventually just one by 2018. The team's name became Sydney in 2019 after New South Wales Rugby took control of the side and dropped the Rays moniker.

North Harbour Rays had been formed as a consortium of four Northern Sydney clubs; Gordon, Manly, Northern Suburbs, and Warringah in 2014. North Harbour took its identity from the Central Coast Rays side that played in the earlier national competition, the Australian Rugby Championship (ARC) in 2007. It had been backed by the same four Sydney clubs, along with the Central Coast Waves.

History

In 2007, an attempt was made to form a third tier of rugby in Australia, similar to New Zealand's ITM Cup and South Africa's Currie Cup. The newly formed competition included eight teams and was called the Australian Rugby Championship. Three of those teams were based in New South Wales, including a Central Coast team.

Central Coast: ARC

The Central Coast Rays team was officially launched in March 2007 by the New South Wales Rugby Union (NSWRU). The Rays' emerald and navy colours represented the ocean and bush landscape of the region. The team logo featured a manta ray in navy blue, outlined in white, on a stylised emerald green and white rugby ball.

The Rays' local rivals in the ARC were the Sydney Fleet and the Western Sydney Rams. The three ARC teams from New South Wales were aligned with existing clubs and regions. The clubs aligned with the Central Coast Rays were Gordon, Manly, Northern Suburbs, and Warringah, from the Shute Shield competition, as well as the Central Coast Waves.

The Central Coast Rays played their home games at the Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium at Gosford, on the New South Wales Central Coast. Bluetongue Stadium, with an all-seater capacity of 20,159, had previously hosted numerous rugby union fixtures including Central Coast Waves matches and New South Wales Waratahs matches during the Australian Provincial Championship.

John McKee was the head coach of the Central Coast team. He had previously coached the Eastwood club and worked with French club Montferrand and Irish team Connacht.

After finishing second on the league table, the Central Coast Rays came from behind against the Perth Spirit in their semi-final, winning 27 to 19. The Rays hosted the Melbourne Rebels in the inaugural ARC Grand Final and won 20 to 12, becoming the inaugural (and only) champions of the ARC.

The Australian Rugby Championship was terminated at the end of 2007 after only one season of competition, with the Australian Rugby Union citing higher costs than budgeted and further projected financial losses. The Central Coast Rays team was disbanded at the end of the ARC.

North Harbour

The National Rugby Championship was announced in December 2013 to commence in 2014 with expressions of interest open to any interested parties and the accepted bids decided early in 2014.

In March 2014 it was announced that the Rays would be revived as the North Harbour Rays to compete in the new National Rugby Championship. The new Rays team was backed by a consortium of the same four Shute Shield clubs involved in earlier Central Coast Rays team: Manly, Warringah, Northern Suburbs and Gordon.

The team played in a quartered harlequin-style strip composed of blue, red, and two shades of green from the four constituent clubs. The sleeves were gold and black, collar and shorts were white and all four clubs’ colours were featured on the socks.

The Rays secured Macquarie University as their principal partner on a two-year deal, to be officially be known as the Macquarie University North Harbour Rays for the 2014 and 2015 NRC seasons.

Phil Blake was initially appointed as the Rays head coach for the 2014 season, with Scott Fava, Haig Sare and Geoff Townsend as part of the coaching staff, but after Blake accepted a coaching opportunity with Leicester Tigers, Geoff Townsend was promoted to the head coaching position,

Damien Cummins replaced Fava as the forwards coach in 2014, and Greg Peterson was named as captain. In 2015, Townsend was reappointed as head coach, and Luke Holmes was named as captain.

Sydney

The team was renamed the Sydney Rays for the 2016 season. Southern Districts considered switching allegiance to the Rays in 2016, but remained with the Rams. Damien Cummins was initially named as head coach in 2016 but he stepped down and Simon Cron was appointed to the job. The Rays performed well that year and lost only once in the regular season – to eventual minor premiers NSW Country – before being knocked out in a semi-final by the Perth Spirit, who went on to win the NRC title.

Two wooden spoon seasons followed in 2017 and 2018 under, respectively, Julian Huxley and Chris Whitaker. The Rays' moniker and logo were dropped in 2019, a year after New South Wales Rugby had taken control of the Sydney team. Whitaker was reappointed head coach and Sydney adopted the traditional masoned crown and anchor insignia of the Sydney Rugby Union for the NRC team's logo, although the anchor had been used on the plaquet of the collar and in promotional material the year before. The Sydney Fleet ARC team had a similar crest in 2007.

Team colours

The Sydney team plays in a blue jersey with two yellow hoops on the chest that is based on the traditional design worn by Sydney representative teams for many years. The blue and yellow colours were adopted in 2018, and are the colours featured on the City of Sydney coat of arms.

For the ARC in 2007, the Central Coast Rays played in a predominantly green and blue jersey. From 2014 to 2017, the North Harbour Rays team wore harlequin-style quartered strips in the various colours of its four constituent clubs.

Home grounds

, Sydney play their home matches at Woollahra Oval No.1. The team has its training base at the University of NSW in Sydney's eastern suburbs, the same facility used by the Waratahs.

From 2014 to 2017, the team played at several venues north of the harbour including Macquarie University and Brookvale Oval, as well as the home grounds of three of the four clubs from the Ray's ownership consortium at the time: Northern Suburbs, Manly and Warringah (i.e. at North Sydney Oval, Manly Oval and Pittwater Park, respectively). In 2018, the Sydney Rays played south of the harbour at Concord, Leichhardt and Woollahra.

For the ARC in 2007, the Rays played at Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium.

Supporters

With the reemergence of the competition in the form of the NRC, fans from Manly and Warringah rugby heartland - tragic supporters of the game - formed the 'STRAYS'. In the spirit of rugby and the NRC they came together to make sure the new club had support in the local community and to 'enrich the sideline experience'. Its members were drawn to the common cause by the founder, Michael Gordon.

Records

Honours

* National Rugby Championship
**Playoff appearances: 2016
* Australian Rugby Championship
**Champions: 2007

Season standings

National Rugby Championship
:

Australian Rugby Championship
:

Head coaches

* Chris Whitaker (2018–19)
* Julian Huxley (2017)
* Simon Cron (2016)
* Geoff Townsend (2014–15)
* John McKee (2007)

Captains

* Lalakai Foketi (2019)
* Damien Fitzpatrick (2017–2018)
* Matt Lucas (2016)
* Luke Holmes (2015)
* Greg Peterson (2014)
* Cameron Treloar (2007)

Squads

:
:

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:

:

Gallery

File:Brisbane City versus North Harbour Rays NRC Round 8 (1).jpg, North Harbour Rays scrum under the Scoreboard
File:Brisbane City versus North Harbour Rays NRC Round 8 (2).jpg, North Harbour Rays warm up pre Round 8 game
File:Brisbane City versus North Harbour Rays NRC Round 8 (3).jpg, North Harbour Rays scrum under the Grandstand
File:Brisbane City versus North Harbour Rays NRC Round 8 (4).jpg, North Harbour Rays post match huddle
File:Curtis Rona for Sydney Rays v Canberra Vikings 2018.jpg, Curtis Rona playing for Sydney in 2018

See also

* New South Wales Waratahs
* Shute Shield
* Gordon RFC
* Manly RUFC
* Northern Suburbs Rugby Club
* Warringah Rugby Club

References

External links

Official website
(archived)
*

{{Central Coast Sports Teams

National Rugby Championship
Sport on the Central Coast (New South Wales)
Rugby clubs established in 2007
2007 establishments in Australia
Rugby union teams in New South Wales
Sports team and club relocations
Rugby union teams in Sydney
Northern Beaches
Rugby union clubs disestablished in 2020
2020 disestablishments in Australia